The Map Never Lies
by pineapple.express.co
Summary: When the dead body of a student is found in the Forbidden Forest with the Resurrection Stone clutched in their hand, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius are forced into the life their parents never wanted them to experience. Luckily the Marauders (plus 1) have come to haunt the halls of Hogwarts and are eager to train the next generation of rule-breakers. Not Cursed Child friendly.
1. To Hogwarts

**A/N This is my first fanfic, so I hope it's good! A few things: JK never said how one becomes a ghost or anything like that, so I'm taking some liberties with that.**

 **I also figured that by this point, a fair amount of the teachers from Harry, Ron, and Hermione's time at Hogwarts would really be getting up there in years, so I got to create some new professors.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Why on earth would I be sitting here writing fanfiction if I did? Maybe I'll do exactly that if I ever write something that gets published...but until then, this is what I've got. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: To Hogwarts

Albus sat in the train, his mind working quickly in his nervous excitement. Rose sat in the seat across from him, which comforted him slightly, because he knew already he'd have at least one friend. He glanced at her, noticing that she had already pulled out one of her new textbooks and was reading it, and, judging by the speed she was flipping the pages, she apparently intended to finish it by the time they reached Hogwarts. With just the two of them, the silence of the compartment was broken only by the sound of paper against paper as she turned the pages. Feeling a bit awkward, Albus cleared his throat, not quite knowing what to say. Just as he did, there was a knock at the door of the compartment. He opened the door, somewhat relieved to have something to do. A boy was standing in the otherwise empty corridor, looking apologetic. He had white-blond hair, a pointed chin, and bright green eyes that shone out against his pale complexion.

"Can I sit with you?" the boy asked. "Everywhere else is full." It wasn't entirely true, but this barely populated compartment seemed for some reason to have a friendly atmosphere matched by no other compartment along the train.

"Sure!" said Albus, turning to check with Rose. Her eyes hadn't even left the pages of _A History of Magic_.

"Thanks. I'm Scorpius, by the way. Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose finally looked up at the mention of this name. She didn't say anything, but her eyes briefly widened, and she reddened a bit before looking back down at her textbook.

Albus's eyes, too, widened when he heard the name. Just minutes before, his Uncle Ron had instructed Rose to "beat him in every test" and, after Aunt Hermione's admonishment, "don't get _too_ friendly with him." He hid his surprise, though, and introduced himself, "I'm Al Potter, and that's—"

"Rose Weasley," Rose cut in, apparently deciding it wasn't worth it to shut them out.

"Al Potter? Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, my dad told me something just before I got on the train…" Scorpius trailed off, a little embarrassed, questioning whether he should share his dad's instruction.

"Yeah?"

Scorpius resolved at that moment that if he wanted to make friends, he would have to be more open. "He pointed over at your dad and said, 'Scorpius, see that man? That's Harry Potter. If you could be anything like him, I'd be proud.'"

Albus stared at Scorpius, who flushed faintly. Rose, too, had abandoned her reading in surprise. That statement didn't seem to fit with _her_ father's instruction. Noticing that Al had gone speechless, she quickly covered for him. "Wow. Were they friends at school or something?"

She knew full well that they weren't.

Albus, failing to catch her glance telling him to _not correct her_ , turned to look at Rose with a confused expression on his face. "Rose, of course they weren't. You know that they…" He trailed off, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Ohhhh…oops."

"Good job, dimwit."

Scorpius watched the two friends' exchange, not knowing quite what to think. Clearly, he'd missed something. "Er, what do you mean, 'of course they weren't'?"

Rose looked at Albus, then at Scorpius. She took matters into her own hands, turned in her seat and set her book down to tell the story. This time, Albus recognized her intentions, but again he questioned her. As she began to speak, he interrupted, "You're going to tell him? Is that really a good idea? What if—"

"What, you think it would be better if we left him in the dark?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Al, it's not that big of a deal," Rose turned back to Scorpius before Albus could reply and told him, "Just before _we_ got on the train, my dad told me to beat you in every test." she paused, then added as an afterthought, "Also, not to get too friendly with you."

An awkward silence filled the compartment as Scorpius took this in. Albus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Rose bit her lip as the moment of silence grew longer. Suddenly, Scorpius grinned, losing all his previous nervousness. "You like a little rebellion?"

Rose slowly mirrored his grin, and soon enough, the whole trio was laughing like they'd been friends for years.

As their laughter died down, Scorpius entered the compartment and slid the door shut behind him as he sat down beside Albus. "What House do you think you'll be in?"

Albus frowned slightly, "I don't really know. Probably Gryffindor. Everybody in my family's been a Gryffindor."

Scorpius looked at Albus, "Everyone in my family is a Slytherin, so probably that's what I'll be. Well, everyone except my dad's cousin, but mom says she died in the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Which House was she in, then?"

Rose looked at Albus in disbelief, "It's Teddy's mom, Al! Don't you remember?" She seemed more interested by Scorpius's words, though, "You're related to Teddy? Teddy Lupin?"

"Yeah…"

At that point, Albus cut short their conversation about Teddy by saying, "So you actually _want_ to be in Slytherin? I mean, isn't that supposed to be the bad house?"

"No! People always think that about Slytherin House, but it's not any worse than the other houses, really!"

"Maybe," Albus was still unconvinced, but he didn't want to push it.

"What House do you think you'll be in then?" Scorpius asked Rose.

"Well, I'm the oldest child in my family, but both my parents were in Gryffindor, so most likely Gryffindor, same as Al."

Scorpius looked worried. "We'll still be friends, though, right? Even if I am a Slytherin?"

Albus and Rose answered at the same time, Albus with, "Definitely!" and Rose with, "Of course!"

"Thanks," said Scorpius. He was relieved. Hearing that his new friends were both Gryffindor hopefuls had worried him; one of the few things he knew about his parents experiences in their years at Hogwarts was that Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't tend to get along very well. He was a little bit glad to be different.

* * *

A few hours later, the train slowed to a stop as it arrived at the station. Filled with excitement and nerves, Rose, Albus, and Scorpius, each now wearing their new black robes, clambered onto the platform, which was quickly filling with students. Above the voices of the crowd, they heard a call, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

They looked at each other and simultaneously beamed; they were really there! Following the shout, the trio found their way to a very large man with a beard and kind eyes that crinkled at the edges when he smiled. Once all the first years had gathered to the man, he called (for the group was large enough that he still had to shout), "Right then, firs' years follow me! Careful now, mind yer step! Firs' years follow me!"

He led the group along a very dark and narrow path. It was lined with trees that seemed to muffle any sound, making the walk eerily quiet. Rose had surged ahead, her curly red hair bouncing on her back. Scorpius and Albus walked side by side behind her, their matching emerald eyes shining with anticipation. The large man looked over his shoulder at the crowd following him, "Jus' round this turn here, yeh'll get yer first sight o' the castle."

As they rounded the bend in the path, a chorus of amazed oooh's came from the first years. They had come to the edge of a lake, across which they could see the castle of Hogwarts atop a towering mountain. The man directed the students toward a fleet of small boats near the shore of the lake, instructing them, "Four to a boat!"

Rose grabbed the hand of each of her companions, forgetting in her eagerness that she'd really only met Scorpius that day, and pulled them along with her as she made for one of the boats. As they slipped and stumbled along, Rose called out to the man, asking his name. Neither Scorpius nor Albus heard the reply, but Rose seemed satisfied with his answer, for she continued to drag the unsteady boys by the hand. Reaching a boat, she let their hands go and boarded eagerly. Albus and Scorpius caught their balance, and then they too, boarded the boat. A boy with mousy brown hair and a mischievous look in his eyes soon joined the three friends in the little craft. "My name's Lorcan Scamander. Who're you all then?"

"Al Potter."

"Rose Weasley."

"Scorpius Malfoy."

Lorcan looked at Albus with a grin. "Al…short for Albus, right?"

"How'd you know that?"

"Lucky guess. Well, and my mum knew your parents," he gave Albus a knowing wink as the boats began to move forward at the man's command. He turned his lighthearted gaze to Rose, "And your parents."

"But you don't even know who my parents are! There are tons of Weasleys!" she protested.

"Oh yes. She knew all of them," he chuckled, "Haven't your parents told you anything about their school life?"

Scorpius replied, "My mother didn't tell me much, and my father even less." There were nods of general agreement from Albus and Rose.

"I think my parents and Al's parents were going to tell us after we'd been at Hogwarts for a year." She looked to Albus for confirmation, "Isn't that what they did for James?"

"James and Fred, yeah. James's been holding that over my head all summer."

Lorcan looked surprised, "Really? Wow," he turned at last to Scorpius, "Scorpius, named after the constellation," he pointed absently at the sky as he continued to talk, "like your father, Draco. My mum knew your dad, too. I don't think she got on very well with him, though."

Scorpius nodded slowly, looking as though he wanted to reply, but he didn't quite know what to say. The fleet of boats had been gliding smoothly across the mirrored surface of the lake the whole time they'd been talking. The first boats were nearing a curtain of ivy that hung down from the cliff where the castle was perched, the tips of the vines grazing the black water. Rose suddenly blurted, "Oh! I forgot to say…the big man's name is Hagrid. I asked him."

"You'd never even heard of Hagrid?" Lorcan was amazed, "But Hagrid's been at Hogwarts for years!"

"Actually, I did know of Hagrid, but I wasn't sure if that was him, so I wanted to make sure."

"How many half-giants do you think there are at one school? No, there's just Hagrid."

As soon as Lorcan finished his sentence, Hagrid shouted, "Heads down!"

Everyone ducked their heads and the boats began to move through the ivy curtain, which was hiding large opening in the cliff face. They traveled past the opening into a tunnel that led them underneath the school for a fair distance. The boats finally stopped once they arrived at a small harbor, where the students stepped out onto a pebbled shore. Lorcan disappeared into the throng, looking for someone, leaving Albus, Scorpius, and Rose alone again. Hagrid then led them up a pathway through the stone, raising his lantern to light their way. At long last, the passageway opened to a grassy yard. A wide flight of stone steps led to the huge castle door. Hogwarts towered high into the sky, casting its huge shadow over the group in the moonlight. They were so close now to the big moment, it was hard to contain the excitement. Rose, Scorpius, and Albus joined the students crowding around the massive wooden door. When everyone had gathered around Hagrid on the stone steps, he gave them an encouraging smile, then turned and knocked three times on the door. As soon as his fist touched the door on the third knock, the heavy door swung open on wrought iron hinges to reveal a tall witch dressed in midnight blue robes. Matching blue hair framed a kindly face with chocolate brown eyes. Hagrid cleared his throat, "The firs' years, Professor Johannesburg."

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here. Have a good night!"

"You too, Professor!" Hagrid waited at the side of the doorway until every first year had followed Professor Johannesburg into the enormous entrance hall, then he closed the door behind them with a thump. The muffled hum of voices came through a large, arching doorway at the right of the hall. Straight ahead of the group was a grand marble staircase that led up to higher floors of the castle. Professor Johannesburg led them, however, into an inconspicuous room off to the left of the entrance hall. They crowded in, standing rather close together and filling the room, each person craning their neck to try to see Professor Johannesburg over the sea of heads in front of them. She gave a kind smile, and then began to speak, "Welcome to Hogwarts! The feast will be beginning soon, but first you must all be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony is a once in a lifetime experience, and is very important. Your house is your family while you are staying at Hogwarts, and you will attend classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitories, and pass free time in your house common room. I also advise you to keep your house common room and dormitory clean, as the custodian, Edwin Filch, does not enter the common rooms to clean them, and while there are elf cleaners, they do not clean the dormitories. There are four houses: Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor, which were named for the four founders of Hogwarts. I personally would like to clarify that none of the houses is better or worse than the rest. There are often misconceptions about that.

"Anyway, during your time at Hogwarts, your achievements will earn points for your house, and likewise, your failures or any rule breaking will lose points for your house. At the end-of-term feast, the house cup is awarded to the house with the most points. Do try to be a benefit to your house.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly in the Great Hall. I will come back to collect you when it is time. Good luck!" she ended her long speech with a wink and another good-natured smile, then left them to wait.

At the moment she closed the door behind her, a gleeful shout rang out above their heads, "Ooooh! Ickle firsties!" There was an evil cackle and they all looked up to see a small man floating in midair with a wicked look in his eyes.

"Peeves! Not the first years! They haven't even been sorted yet! Go pick on Filch," a ghost with a mischievous face and flaming red hair reprimanded Peeves.

"It's Uncle George!" exclaimed Rose.

"What's that I heard? Uncle George? I've got a niece this year, do I? Aha, there she is!" The ghost swooped down close to the heads of the students, finding Rose's curly, Weasley red hair, "And it's Uncle Fred to you. I reckon you can tell us apart now. You know, seeing as I've got two ears, and he's got one. Not to mention I stopped aging nineteen years ago. Oh yes, and I'm a ghost. Did you notice?" Fred winked, and his beam was so wide it hardly seemed to fit on his face.

"Uncle Fred! That's brilliant!" Rose had the urge to throw her arms around his neck, but it was rather impossible with a ghost.

Their conversation was soon drowned out by shouts of surprise as three more lively ghosts appeared from the walls. "Aaaaannd…Padfoot is going in with the flying forward one-and-a-half somersaults with three and a half twists in the free position! A difficult dive, no doubt. Let's see if he can land it."

A ghost dove from a torch holder, executing quite gracefully the aforementioned dive, before flattening out and gliding so close to the tops of the students' heads that their hair ruffled in the breeze. "He's made it! I don't believe it! A perfect dive! Incredible! Unbelievable!" The commentating ghost somersaulted down from someplace near the ceiling, and he too glided close to the tops of their heads. Meeting near the middle of the room, the two ghosts exchanged a high five, and the third ghost corkscrewed rapidly through the arch formed by the high five of the first two. "Moony wins the prize yet again with his bull's-eye aim!" Fred's ghost joined the other three as they flew together over the now clapping and cheering students.

The door opened and Professor Johannesburg stepped into the room. She joined in the applause, and then held up her hand in the remaining space in the doorway. The four ghosts, one right after another, zoomed out of the room, landing a high five with Professor Johannesburg on the way through the doorway. They were all laughing merrily.

After allowing several moments for the applause to die down a bit, Professor Johannesburg said cheerfully, "This is why I've stopped telling first years to wait quietly. There's really no point. Well, in any case, we're ready. The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. Now, if you would line up and follow me." She opened the door wide and led them across the entrance hall again. When she stepped into the hall, a ghost with bubblegum pink hair began to walk at her side, mimicking Professor Johannesburg's walk uncannily. Then the ghost turned to face the students, winked impishly, and morphed into an exact copy of the professor. She turned to Professor Johannesburg and held out her hand, "May I have this dance, Professor?"

Professor Johannesburg paused in her stride, "Why yes, Tonks. You may."

It was clear the Professor Johannesburg had spent much time with ghosts, for she could make it look as though they too were flesh and blood, in giving perfect high fives and handshakes. And, of course, dancing. The two Professor Johannesburgs danced a rather lively waltz across the remainder of the entrance hall. When they reached the archway to the great hall, Tonks morphed back into her spiky bubblegum pink hair and walked past the crowd of new students, grinning. Several times, she morphed into one of the students she walked past and gave them an innocent smile.

Then she walked past Scorpius. And then she stopped and came back to walk alongside Scorpius again. She looked at him, her grin dropping and her eyes widening. She morphed into him, then slowly into a boy who looked very like him, except he was older and his eyes were a smoky blue-grey instead of green. "Malfoy?"

Scorpius nodded uncertainly.

"You look a lot like your pops," she said, an expression of pain crossing her face, "Don't turn out like him, hey?"

"Oh…okay" Scorpius didn't know how to reply.

He reached the doors to the Great Hall, and Tonks flew into the air then passed through a wall at the end of the entrance hall. Scorpius watched her fly away, somewhat confused, then he turned his head to look into the Great Hall. It was magnificent.

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 **A/N I know it's short, so please don't kill me in my sleep. PLEASE REVIEW, I want to know what you guys and girls think!**

 **I'll probably update again soon, so if you liked it, you have that to look forward to! Cheers!**


	2. The Sorting Ceremony

**A/N Before you dive into chapter 2, fair warning: the Sorting Hat's song is pretty long, and the chapter will probably seem really short, especially if you do what most people do when they see a song in a book-skip over it. Also, I have to give credit for the song to my dear friend Emma. I took a stab at song-writing and it turned out pretty awful in my opinion, so I went and begged her for her poetic expertise.**

 **Disclaimer: As surprising as it may be, I'm not actually JK Rowling and do not own Harry Potter. (Whaaat? I know you're all dumbfounded by this.) Just kidding; I'm nowhere near as genius as her. ;) Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: The Sorting Ceremony

The Great Hall was the most enormous room Scorpius had ever seen. There were four very long tables that stretched down the entire length of the hall, at which all the older students were sitting. The first table was dressed all in crimson and gold, the second in dark blue and bronze, the third in yellow and black, and the fourth in green and silver. At the far end of the hall there was another table placed perpendicular to the rest, which was filled by teachers. He looked up at the ceiling to see the starry night sky, just as it was outside. The room was lit by what must have been tens of thousands of floating candles that made the plates and goblets on the tables below glitter beautifully.

Professor Johannesburg led the line of first years down the center of the hall, between the middle two tables of students. Scorpius became more nervous with every step he took, and found himself staring at his feet, watching them take him ever closer to the front of the hall. And then he was there, and Professor Johannesburg was directing them to line up facing the rest of the school with the teachers' table at their back. She brought a rather beat-up looking four-legged wooden stool and set it just ahead of the line of students, then gingerly placed a hat on top of it. The hat was a wizard's hat, pointed and brown. Well, sort of… brown-ish. The hat was threadbare, patched, filthy, and very charred. Scorpius forgot his extreme nervousness for a brief moment to wonder how the hat gotten in such a state. Then the hat did something Scorpius had definitely _not_ expected. One of the seams near the brim opened, and the hat began to sing:

" _Many years ago, my friends,  
_ _And many before that, perhaps,  
_ _Four wizards and witches searched far and wide  
_ _For a place that veered far from the maps._

 _Here they decided, those industrious few,  
_ _To build a castle tall  
_ _For the teaching and learning of magical arts  
_ _To be taught and learnt by all._

 _If they were to begin a school, the four said,  
_ _We must divide students up into groups.  
_ _One for each of us, simple as that,  
_ _And we can each make rules for our troop._

 _And so the four houses of Hogwarts were made,  
_ _One for each of the four.  
_ _And each house is like its own family, though large,  
_ _Together they'll learn and explore_

 _But who will be in which house, the four asked,  
_ _And who do we trust to choose?  
_ _And that, my friends, is how I came to be;  
_ _The Sorting Hat. It is I who will muse_

 _Over the contents of your brain, heart, and soul,  
_ _Your character, thoughts, and dreams.  
_ _And I will decide which house is for you  
_ _Based on their aura and theme._

 _The four founders, whom I have mentioned before  
_ _Had picked the traits they thought most essential  
_ _For their students to showcase, nurture, desire  
_ _If they were to fulfill their potential._

 _Wise Ravenclaw, the keen young witch  
_ _Chose her colors to be bronze and blue.  
_ _If your head's full of thoughts and your mind knows no bounds,  
_ _Then Ravenclaw House is for you._

 _Quiet Hufflepuff, loyal and small  
_ _Chose a badger to be her house sign.  
_ _If you possess hidden strength and stay true to your friends,  
_ _Then the yellow and black are your kind._

 _Shrewd Slytherin, a cunning fellow  
_ _Thought the ambitious would achieve their ends.  
_ _If you stop at nothing to get what you want,  
_ _Among the green you'll find friends._

 _Brave Gryffindor, that chivalrous knight  
_ _Made his colors bright red and gold.  
_ _If you love taking chances and exploring your limits,  
_ _Then you are a Gryffindor, valiant and bold._

 _But no matter the house you join, new pupils,  
_ _We all are one and the same.  
_ _Whether eagle, badger, lion, or snake  
_ _All of Hogwarts shares one aim_

 _To teach, to learn, to discover and explore  
_ _Is the dream shared by four friends  
_ _Don't allow your differences to tear you apart  
_ _For your schoolmates are with you to the end_

 _So stick with each other, through games and through fights  
_ _Don't let past rumors deter you  
_ _From seeing the good in every last soul  
_ _Whether yellow, green, red, or blue_

 _I am the Sorting Hat, my friends  
_ _And you are soon to be Sorted  
_ _Step forward, young ones, and don't be afraid  
_ _I have made no mistakes (at least, none recorded)_

 _Remember yourself as you don me on your head!  
_ _Remember your strengths and your dreams!  
_ _And I'll Sort you, to be sure, to the best house for you  
_ _Be reminded they aren't all what they seem_

 _But that's for you to find out, not for me to declare  
_ _So go on! Step up with hope in your hearts!  
_ _A new chapter awaits, a new page to be penned  
_ _And it starts right here at Hogwarts!_

As the Hat finished its song, the entire room burst into applause. After bowing to each table, it straightened as best it could and became still, looking once again like a normal old wizard's hat. The hat's song somewhat soothed Scorpius's nerves, knowing that all he had to do was try on the hat and let it decide. But his mind was working against him, and suddenly he thought, _What if it can't decide? What if I don't belong in any of the houses? Will they just send me home and tell my parents there's no place for me at Hogwarts?_ Scorpius shoved this thought away, not wanting to consider it. Once the hall was quiet again, Professor Johannesburg, now holding a roll of parchment, stepped forward to stand beside the stool with the hat on it and began to speak again, "When I call your name, you will come forward, put on the hat and sit on the stool. When you are Sorted, you may join your new house table."

She unrolled the parchment until its end sat on the ground at her feet, "Anderson, Colin!"

A skinny freckled boy stepped out from the line, looking rather light-headed, put the hat on and sat down on the stool. The hat sat low on his head, covering his eyes and hitting the top of his nose. There was a moment of silence, then the hat shouted for the whole hall to hear, "RAVENCLAW!"

The second table on the left clapped and cheered loudly as Colin went to sit down with the Ravenclaws.

"Baker, Nigel!"

A brown haired, olive skinned boy with glasses nervously sat down and Professor Johannesburg placed the hat over his head. No sooner had it touched his hair than the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Nigel ran towards the cheering table on the far left to sit down, looking very relieved.

"Braithwaite, Taura!"

A girl with short, dark brown hair half-ran to the stool excitedly, and Professor Johannesburg dropped the hat over her eyes. A couple of moments later, the hat decided on, "RAVENCLAW!"

A blonde haired "Branstone, Heather" soon became the first Hufflepuff, and the table at the far right cheered as she sat down.

Not long after that, "Campbell, Sharon" was sorted into Slytherin, along with "Cox, Calisto."

Sometimes, the hat shouted out its decision right away, but other times, it seemed to have some trouble determining what house to place a student in. Septima Gibson sat on the stool with the hat on her head for about two minutes before it sorted her into Hufflepuff.

Scorpius realized the names were nearing the middle of the alphabet. Nearing him. He glanced to his right, where Albus and Rose stood beside him. Al seemed to be pondering something, though Scorpius suspected it was just nervousness, much like his own.

"Lochrin, Alexandria!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"MacGuffin, Jordan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

Scorpius stood there frozen for a moment or two. Rose gave him a reassuring smile before pushing him gently out of the line. Scorpius suddenly unfroze, stumbling forward a little from Rose's nudge, and walked to the stool. His stomach was doing gymnastics tricks inside his body. He sat down on the wooden stool and looked out at the watching school before Professor Johannesburg dropped the hat over his eyes.

"Aha, this one is going to be difficult…" said a small voice into his ear, "a brilliant mind, certainly, and a thirst to learn, yes, but there's also courage, lots of courage. And talent, so much talent waiting to be tapped, and loyalty too. Where shall I place you, then? Hmm..."

 _Generations of my family in one house, and it can't decide on me…_

"Oh, yes, I know I put your whole family into Slytherin, but that doesn't determine your house, oh no. Every student is sorted according to his or her own mind. Didn't you realize that when your great-aunt was a Hufflepuff? You talked with your late cousin just now, a Hufflepuff as well. And she made you think. It's all here in your mind. You've been wondering… But where to put you?"

Scorpius gripped the edges of the stool until his knuckles turned white. The hat was right; Tonks' words were still ringing in his ears, still bouncing around in his head. He remembered how her grin had fallen from her face so suddenly at the sight of him. What had happened to her to prompt her reaction to him?

Scorpius realized that the hat had gone quiet, perhaps pondering his placement. This silence made it possible for Scorpius to hear the whispers and murmurs throughout the crowd. How long had he sat there on the stool with the hat over his eyes? No one had talked while any of the other students were being sorted.

* * *

Rose shifted uneasily. Scorpius had been sitting on the stool for a very long time now, and the students at the tables had begun to whisper. She wondered what it was taking so long to decide on.

Minutes passed, and Scorpius still sat there, clutching the edges of the stool with the hat sitting over his eyes.

A minute or two more slipped by, then at long last the hat straightened up. The hall went very quiet.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table cheered louder than ever. Scorpius got up, handed the hat back to Professor Johannesburg, and walked shakily towards the applauding table. Rose frowned, wondering why Scorpius had taken such a long time to sort, then she turned back to face Professor Johannesburg, who had continued to call names; Al would be called soon.

And indeed, right after "Phillips, Anthea" was sorted, there it was: "Potter, Albus!"

Albus walked to the stool, looking very shaky. He took his place on the wooden stool and Professor Johannesburg set the hat on his head. About thirty seconds later, the hat shouted for the hall to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Smiling with relief, Albus joined the Gryffindor table, making sure he didn't sit beside James. He grinned happily up at Rose, and she returned the smile.

 _Not long now,_ she thought.

"Scamander, Lorcan!"

Someone Rose couldn't quite see pushed the mousy-haired boy out from the line. He caught his balance and made his way to the stool, where he sat down. Lorcan winked at the crowd just before the hat dropped over his eyes. Two seconds, then, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Scamander, Lysander!"

A second mousy-haired boy with a grin stepped to the stool. He was identical to Lorcan in every way. He, too, winked as the hat dropped.

Rose counted, _One second…two seconds…_

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Rose grinned, _Completely identical, right down to the time it took for the hat to decide._

There were now only four left in the line.

Three…

Two…

"Weasley, Rose!"

She walked steadily to the stool and sat down smartly. The hat came down over her eyes, and barely a moment later she heard the hat shout to the whole hall, "GRYFFINDOR!"

She sat beside Albus at the end of the Gryffindor table, then looked over past the Ravenclaw table to find Scorpius waving merrily at the two of them from the end of the Slytherin table. She elbowed Albus, who hadn't noticed him yet, and waved back at Scorpius as the hat finally declared Josiah Williamson a Hufflepuff. Professor Johannesburg rolled up the scroll of parchment and took the Sorting Hat and stool away, then sat down at the High Table beside the headmaster. At that moment, Rose saw the Scamander twins poke Scorpius in the back from the Hufflepuff table and whisper something to him. The three boys laughed, and Scorpius replied back with a devilish smirk. Eventually, he looked up at the High Table, then, staying as low as he could, got up and sat down next to the twins. Rose beamed, because she saw Professor Johannesburg watch it all happen with a little smile on her face. The headmaster got to his feet and called for the whole hall to hear, "To all our first years, welcome to Hogwarts! And to all our returning students, welcome back! I have a few announcements to make, but first, let's eat!"

The students clapped as he sat back down, looking merry. Rose looked down at her empty plate, her stomach reminding her of how hungry she really was. A few moments later, dishes piled high with steaming food appeared all down the middle of each House table. Looking down the table, she saw that people were already piling their plates with steak, roast beef, roast chicken, pork and lamb, bacon and sausage, potatoes cooked in any way one could possibly think of, and so many other things. Rose followed suit, filling her plate with a bit of everything in sight. Soon, the hum of conversation and the clinking of silverware filled the Great Hall. It was all delicious.

Rose and Albus stayed rather quiet throughout the feast, but Rose noticed that Scorpius and the Scamander twins had kept up a very lively conversation from the very beginning of the banquet. And Scorpius was still sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

After Rose had finished two platefuls of food, and was serving herself up a third helping of potatoes, the food scraps faded away from the plates, which sparkled in the candlelight once again. Several seconds later, desserts replaced the steaming dishes of food. There was ice cream in every flavor you could ever want, pies in an almost equivalent amount, treacle tarts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, puddings, jam doughnuts, and chocolate, well, just about chocolate _anything_. Rose wished she hadn't eaten so much before, because all the desserts looked delicious too. She watched Albus pile his plate high with delectable dishes, deciding that perhaps she had room for a bit of everything after all– and perhaps even a second helping of apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of desserts, (which, Rose noticed, refilled when the serving dish became empty) the headmaster stood up and quieted the hall, "Now that we have all been wonderfully befuddled by this scrumptious feast, I have a couple of start-of-term announcements. All of the first years should be informed, and some of the older students must be reminded, that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds to students, and there will be consequences for entering it. I must also introduce myself, as I am somewhat less famous than the previous several headmasters. I am Professor Spurtlenest, and I wish you all a good term!

"I see you are all quite bored with me already. It must have been the 'consequences' word. So before I send you off to bed, everyone pick a tune and let's sing to school song!" A gold and silver paisley ribbon sprouted from the end of his wand, which he then flicked deftly and watched as the ribbon flowed and twisted into words above his head. He faced the hall once more then began to sing. The whole school joined him, bellowing:

" _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
_ _Teach us something please,  
_ _Whether we be old and bald  
_ _Or young with scabby knees,  
_ _Our heads could do with filling  
_ _With some interesting stuff,  
_ _For now they're bare and full of air,  
_ _Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
_ _So teach us things worth knowing,  
_ _Bring back what we've forgot,  
_ _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
_ _And learn until our brains all rot._ "

Everyone finished singing at different times. Rose, who had picked a relatively quick tune, finished early, thus she could hear James and Fred harmonizing quite wonderfully just down the Gryffindor table. It sounded as though they had convinced Cousin Molly to join them, and had even dragged in Cousin Louis from the Ravenclaw table. Rose could hear the Scamander twins loudly singing a very short tune, such that they had to start it over every other line. One of them was purposefully singing one note behind the other. Gradually, the song faded until only the four-part choir down the table was left singing. Finishing the last line, James stood up and bowed. Professor Spurtlenest clapped the loudest of them all. He then instructed, "Prefects, please lead your house to their dorms. Do try to sleep tonight, as there are classes tomorrow. Your class schedules will be delivered to you overnight. Off you go then, pip pip!"

The whole mass of students stood up from the tables, and Rose heard a prefect calling from the other end of the Gryffindor table, "First years follow me!"

She then realized that this call was being echoed throughout the hall, from the Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw prefects. She looked over her shoulder at Albus, then began to push through the crowd of older students, arriving quickly at the other end of the table, where a crowd of first years had gathered around a Gryffindor prefect. A few more minutes, and the last of the first years collected. The prefect checked the hall once more for any remaining Gryffindor first years, then said, "Right ho. Then off to bed we go."

As the four House prefects led their respective first years out of the Great Hall, Rose managed to catch Scorpius's eye over the heads of several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. She mouthed a "good night" before the crowd jostled them out of each other's line of sight. Looking behind her, Rose realized she could no longer see Albus in the crowd either. The first years bottlenecked through the Great Hall's doors, then were led in four different directions out of the Entrance Hall. Apparently the common rooms were all in different parts of the castle.

As Rose contemplated this fact, she realized that the crowd was still moving; the Gryffindor prefect had led them up multiple staircases without Rose even noticing. She groaned, hoping that Albus would be able to show her the way up to the common room later. Blinking her eyes (for she was very tired now), she nodded politely at one of the portraits on the wall and reminded herself to pay more attention. The group rounded a corner and Rose was dismayed to see two more flights of stairs going upward-her legs were exhausted. However, the prefect ignored the stairs and led them instead towards a tapestry hanging just beside the base of the stairs. The prefect greeted the long-bearded wizard on the tapestry (for tapestries could move as well as paintings and photos, so long as the subject was a person) then gathered the cloth to the side to reveal a doorway that had been hidden before. The first year Gryffindors squeezed through the doorway, many of them yawning and dragging tired feet, to enter a short, dimly lit corridor. Several flights of stairs (were they climbing a tower?) and similar hidden corridors later, the students found themselves facing a large portrait of a very fat woman in a pink dress.

The woman seemed to be in a good mood, smiling warmly at the group of exhausted 11-year-olds before primly asking, "Password?"

"Purple parchment," the prefect responded, making sure all the first years could hear the words.

The portrait swung out away from the wall, and behind it was a hole in the wall which led into a room that seemed to be entirely drowned in the colors of red and gold. Rose was too tired to notice anything much about it, and all she really heard the prefect say was, "...the girls dormitories are up those stairs..." before she found herself collapsing onto a bed with her trunk set at its foot.

* * *

 **A/N Alright, so I saw no reason for the school song to change. Therefore, credit and thanks to JK Rowling for the Hogwarts School Song.**

 **I thought it was time for a little more inter-House unity, and what better way than to stick part of a budding friendship into Slytherin while the rest is in Gryffindor? Okay, so there are better ways, but I liked that one. Please don't murder me...or worse, stop reading :( because I didn't shake things up with Houses.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW. I want to know what y'all think! Give me some ideas, maybe some advice, ANYTHING. Criticism is welcome, as long as it is constructive. REVIEW, guys!**


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